CVE-2023-6395
CRITICALPrivilege escalation for users that can access mock configuration
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
templated-dictionaryReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects PyPI packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The Mock software contains a vulnerability wherein an attacker could potentially exploit privilege escalation, enabling the execution of arbitrary code with root user privileges. This weakness stems from the absence of proper sandboxing during the expansion and execution of Jinja2 templates, which may be included in certain configuration parameters. While the Mock documentation advises treating users added to the mock group as privileged, certain build systems invoking mock on behalf of users might inadvertently permit less privileged users to define configuration tags. These tags could then be passed as parameters to mock during execution, potentially leading to the utilization of Jinja2 templates for remote privilege escalation and the execution of arbitrary code as the root user on the build server.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | templated-dictionary | all versions | 1.4.1 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for templated-dictionary. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update templated-dictionary to 1.4.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-6395 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2023-6395 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2023-6395. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-6395 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2023-6395 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.